Worried that you’re underhydrated after a heart-pounding run or bike ride? SEMI’s Nano-Bio Manufacturing Consortium (NBMC) has you covered – with a patch. A few years after the group undertook the sweaty task of creating a non-invasive health monitor, the patch that tracks electrolyte levels recently ended up stuck to the skin of U.S. Air Force volunteers.
“During extra workout sessions at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Ohio, the volunteers wore on their backs adhesive patches that collected their perspiration," according to GE Reports. "Sensors in the patches were able to detect the specific levels of electrolytes in the sweat the volunteers released. That data was transmitted wirelessly to a laptop computer app where researchers could analyze it in real time.” Read more about the project in the GE Reports blog.
The project came together when NBMC, a diverse group of companies, universities and organizations, brought their enthusiasm and interdisciplinary know-how across nanotechnology, biotechnology, advanced (additive) manufacturing, and flexible electronics to tackle the challenge of underhydration and dehydration. The idea was to develop a device that delivers reliable, wireless, actionable human performance data in a non-invasive way.
Congratulations to GE Global Research, and the partners from the Air Force Research Laboratory, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, American Semiconductor Inc., University of Arizona, UES, Dublin City University and NBMC on these impressive strides in the field of health monitoring!
Watch this video to see the patch in action! (https://www.facebook.com/GE/videos/1667584156643205/)
Visit www.nbmc.org for more information.
